The sound resonating through the halls of Trinity United Methodist Church Thursday night wasn't of prayer, praise or preaching. It was rock music.
The church auditorium filled with 300 people who came to see local Sister Hazel musicians Ken Block and Drew Copeland perform a concert to benefit Shands Vista Florida Recovery Center, a rehabilitation facility.
Block and Copeland performed an acoustic show strumming their guitars and singing favorites such as "Change Your Mind," "Champagne High," "All For You" and "A Little Like Heaven."
The pair sat on wooden stools and took time to tell stories between songs. "Champagne High," a song about Block's high school girlfriend, was originally called "You Broke My Heart, You Hooker."
"Andrew and I, we don't do a ton of acoustics anymore these days, so it's kind of fun for us to get out here without the band and all the equipment, just kind of jump up there, be idiots and tell stories and all that," Block said.
Attendees Liam and Michelle Schauer and their two children, Ellie and Marshall, all wore Sister Hazel T-shirts to show support for the band.
"I've loved their music since I first heard them in '94," Michelle Schauer said.
The love for the band runs in the family. Michelle Schauer snapped photos as Marshall, who won a football autographed by Urban Meyer in a raffle, and Ellie posed with Copeland.
"I absolutely loved this concert," Michelle Schauer said. She said she thought the venue allowed for a more intimate performance than the band's recent show in the O'Connell Center.
Tickets for the event were $20 and VIP tickets, which included dinner after the show and a meet-and-greet with Block, were $100. All proceeds went to provide treatment scholarships to patients at the Florida Recovery Center and outreach opportunities to help people recover from addiction.
This event was particularly special to Block, a recovering drug addict and alcoholic and former patient of the center.
"I have seen firsthand what this group of people does to change people's lives in dramatic ways," Block said. "And I've seen what this fellowship and community of people have done to nurture people's souls on a day-to-day basis."
Block said he thanks Gainesville and the recovery center helped him stay clean for seven years and counting.
"It shaped who I am as a writer, as an artist, as a performer, as a neighbor, as a parent, all those things. And I've had many opportunities to go anywhere but the support system that I have in Gainesville is invaluable."
This was the second benefit concert Black and Copeland have done for the recovery center, and they plan on doing many more.
"I'm just happy to be here, thrilled to be here," Block said.
